The variables of love
by Miss Dreavus
Summary: Penny is upset. Who can comfort her? Sheldon Cooper to the rescue. Please read and review! S/P fanfic.


Penny/Sheldon

Set before expedition

______________________________________

Sheldon was sitting in his spot, watching Star-Trek re-runs. He was waiting for Penny to arrive from her shift at the Cheesecake Factory so he could ask her to use their central freezer for training. He knew she would be home any minute now. By the time the Star-Trek episode had finished, he looked in the parking lot and saw her car.

He went across the hall and knocked in his usual manner.

knock knock knock "Penny" knock knock knock "Penny" knock knock knock "Penny"

She opened the door a few seconds later, tears streaming down her face, obviously upset over something.

"Penny, I was wondering if we could use the Cheesecake Factory freezer to test our equipment for the expedition."

"I'll see what I can do" the blonde girl replied with a sniff, without asking questions. After all, it is Sheldon.

They looked at each other for a moment.

"And when do you put that _see what you can do_ thing in action?" Sheldon iquired.

"Oh my God Sheldon! I'll check on it tomorrow, it's almost 11pm!" Penny said on the verge of bursting into tears.

"Ok, good." Sheldon answered, wondering why she had given him the time. He didn't ask what time it was, he was asking for a giant freezer.

He was about to go back in his apartment but he stopped and turned around as she was closing her door.

"Are you upset?" Sheldon asked, unsure of himself.

"Yes, I am."

_Wow. I was able to discern a human emotion_, Sheldon thought. She was about to close her door again when Sheldon kept going:

"You're so upset that you are crying?"

"I was just watching a movie and the ending is very sad." Penny said wiping her tears away.

"But your shift ended 47 minutes ago", stated Sheldon. "Taking out the 7 minutes you usually spend at the restaurant after your shift talking to the other waitresses, the 23 minutes it takes you to get home, plus the 3 minutes used to park your car, pick up your mail and climb the stairs, you have been home for 14 minutes. Therefore, you wouldn't have had the time to get the end of a movie, even assuming it's a very short one. Also, can you cry at the matters of characters you have learned to know for 14 minutes..."

"Alright, a movie is not why I'm crying", Penny cut him off, yet impressed that he memorized her schedule like that.

"But you are still upset right?" interrogated the man.

"YES, I am, brilliant deduction genius." Penny answered sarcastically.

_Ok, two for two__, I am on a roll,_ Sheldon thought. "Do you want to talk about your present state of emotion?"

"No." Penny replied rather sharply.

_Well, my __great strike stopped at two,_ told Sheldon to himself, _tied my personal best._

"Well, goodnight then", said Sheldon calmly.

He had reached his doorknob when Penny spoke again.

"I've been dating this guy for a couple a days, and tonight, he came to the restaurant with another girl." She couldn't reprise a sob.

Sheldon was looking around, darting at different spots in the hallway, not knowing what to do.

"Come here, Sheldon", Penny said with a sigh.

"Oh." He just stood there, in front of her. "I'm sorry, I don't know the protocol for this social situation."

"Come in. The protocol is that you have to make me feel better" Penny said, pulling him inside.

She let herself fall on her couch.

"Sit", she pointed the seat next to her.

"But that seat is not my spot in your apartment", replied Sheldon.

"I know, but we can't fit both in my chair and I need comforting!" Penny said impatiently.

Sheldon sat down reluctantly. He moved his rear several times, as it couldn't fit.

Penny watched him slightly annoyed, slightly amused. When Sheldon finally stopped moving, she started taking again:

"She was all over him, they wouldn't stop kissing, practically eating each other alive. Right in my face! I didn't confront or anything, but I know he knew I was there tonight."

Sheldon didn't answer.

"And she wasn't that pretty" Penny continued.

Again Sheldon said no word.

"Who am I kidding, she was gorgeous!" cried Penny and grabbed Sheldon's arm.

She felt him stiffen, but didn't bother. Right after, he started patting her saying "there, there".

"Why do I always end up alone and hurt? I date these guys for a while, and then they always seem to find better than me", said Penny, clutching Sheldon's arm.

Sheldon seem to acknowledge something and spoke for the first time:

"Now wait. Considering the western standards of beauty, I don't really see how another girl can be called more attractive than you, unless of course she's your clone, but everyone knows the cloning process is far from accomplishing such a thing, and also based on scientific facts…"

Penny lifted up her head, cutting him off: "Aw, sweetie, thank you. But you should've stopped right before the cloning part."

Sheldon looked at her, seeming to think his comment was anything but irrelevant.

There was a small moment of silence when Sheldon stated:

"An attractive woman with remarquably good skills at video games. That guy doesn't know what he's loosing."

"Sheldon! That's the sweetest thing you ever said to me!" Penny said, and with that, she kissed him gently on the cheek.

Sheldon twitched, looked all around, wanted to get up, but stayed in his sitting position, looking nervous.

"Why did you do that?" the scientist asked.

"Well, you know, because of what you said", Penny answered. "I don't you don't know the _protocols_ and all, but you're not doing that bad. In fact, you are cheering me up, sweetie."

"I did not try to do anything, just stating facts based on statistics and observations", said Sheldon matter-of-factly.

"Nevertheless, it made me feel better, thank you" said Penny as she rested her head on Sheldon's shoulder.

He didn't respond, analysing the present situation. What had he said? She must know she is an attractive woman by the common standards, along with her skills for Halo and Age of Conan. Well, at least she wasn't more upset. Sheldon was priding himself to that matter. What was the next step to do now? He looked at his shoulder. Penny had drifted to sleep.

Should he wake her? Probably not. He knows HE hates to be woken up and have his REM cycle messed up. He could let her sleep. The only problem was that she still had her arm clutched again his, and trying to get his arm out would surely wake her. He only had one option: wait until she would wake up.

He tried to suppress a yawn. Sheldon was kind of sleepy himself. He could tell it was past his bedtime. Was he willing to sacrifice his own REM cycle for hers? Normally, a thought like that wouldn't even cross his mind, but she was so upset earlier. He could still feel the hint of moisture Penny lips had left on his cheek, and he felt a weird sensation in his stomach. He had not eaten anything different than usual, how could he experience digestive distress?

He decided to ignore it and tried the best he could to shift into a position that could make him go to sleep. He closed his eyes, and thought of Penny and her soft lips kissing his cheek again.


End file.
